The Royals
by World.Has.No.Right.To.My.Heart
Summary: AU. Mary Margaret is the matriarch of a fictional contemporary British royal family who must struggle with family dramas while in the public eye. Twins Prince Graham and Princess Emma enjoy the hedonistic pleasures available to them as royals, knowing that their older brother August bears the responsibility of being heir to the throne of England. But that is all about to change.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

 **A/N. This is an AU OUAT fic inspired by the TV show, The Royals. Character personalities have been altered to fit persona's of characters in the TV show.**

Mary Margaret walks down the hall of the palace in a white lace dress. On her left is her secretary Zelena, dressed in a black skirt suit and a while blouse, and on her right is her other secretary Albert, dressed in a black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie. There are palace guards following behind the group as they walk down the hall.

"You have a fitting for the garden party." Albert tells her while flipping through a book containing the Queen's schedule.

"Followed by the charity photoshoot." Zelena adds.

"Oh, and Sir Elton John would like to pop around and say hello." Albert says while closing the book.

"Pop around and say hello? Give someone a title and they treat the place like a Starbucks." Mary Margaret responds.

"Quite. The Queen is unfornately indisposed… now at half past twelve…" Albert starts about to open the book in his hands again.

"Okay, just give me the book, Albert." Mary Margaret tells him with an outstretched hand and takes the book from his hands. She flips through a few pages skimming the content on them.

"Are you ready, your majesty?" Zelena asks her.

"Of course, I'm ready. I'm the Queen of England, when am I not ready?" She responds as she shuts the book and hands it back to Albert.

She turns around as palace guards open the door. Before her, she sees a crowd of people waving the flag of the United Kingdom just beyond the steps of the palace. Albert puts out his arm and Mary Margaret places her hand on it. She allows him to lead her out of the places doors and down the steps. She smiles the whole way to the car that has just pulled up to the steps. She places sunglasses on her head before stepping into the car.

\\*****/

Graham chugs a pint at his favorite bar at university. He hears people cheering around him as they play darts and drink.

"Yeah, of course, get on with it. Really, what's the point?" He asks out loud to the crowd around him.

"It's a race, you idiot." He hears a girl shout from above in an American accent.

The crowd quiets instantly and all turn to look at the girl who shouted. The crowd is shocked that someone said something like that to him.

"I mean, it's a race, you idiot, your royal highness?" The girl clarifies her statement. She has long black hair with streaks of red in it and she is wearing black jeans and a red tank top.

"It's a race, true enough, but some things in life are meant to be savored. A cold drink." Graham states before finishing the rest of his pint. He then proceeds to throw a dart which lands in the bullseye of the dart board. "Dart with your mates." He continues as he walks towards a few other guys. The crowd around him cheers on. He throws another dart on the second dart board and hits the bullseye again. The crowd cheers.

"The woman in your bed." He ends while staring straight at the girl. He throws the dart and lands in the bullseye again on the third board without even looking at the board. The crowd cheers again.

He smiles and stares at her. She smiles back, shaking her head dumbfounded at what just happened. She cannot believe she just did that. It was so unlike her. A few moments later, Graham walks up to the balcony and extends his hand to the girl. She takes it and he leads her back to his room. They stop outside of his door and he begins to kiss her. He kisses her lips passionately before moving to her neck. He spins her around so her back is facing his chest and continues to kiss her neck.

"Damn the feels good." She breathes as he continues to kiss her neck. She turns around and places her hand on his neck. "Let me ask you something. Can we go somewhere without them?" She asks him gesturing to his security team.

"Sure. Where did you have in mind? Paris?" he asks her.

"I was thinking more like your bed." She responds.

"Oh, I like that even better." He tells her before leaning down to kiss her again.

She breaks the kiss. "But… umm… could we really go to Paris?" She asks him.

"Sure. My sister is there right now." He states before leaning back into to kiss her.

 **A/N. Sorry for the short chapter, this is all I had time to write. Let me know what you think and if I should continue the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **A/N. Remember this is AU so the character's persona's have been altered to match those of The Royals characters.**

Emma is dancing between two guys dressed in all black. She is clad in a tight and short sparkly silver dress. She is wearing a lot of black kohl liner around her eyes and her blond hair falls in curls down her back. She turns and notices her friend walking towards her. She squeals and throws her arms around her.

"Bitch, your coked-up ass better curtsy." She says and watches her friend curtsy in front of her. Well more like drop in low in front of her. This causes Emma to throw her head back with laughter.

"Do we like them?" Her friend asks her.

"No." She replies as she drags her friend away from the two guys she was dancing with previously. The guys try to follow them but Emma's security detail steps in front of them before they are able to take two steps towards her. Emma leads her friend to a private booth in the back of the club.

An hour later, Emma is dancing in her seat to the song playing around her. She throws back shots with friends before she starts dancing again. She notices one of her friends has decided to stop drinking she helps her other friend pour a shot down the friend's throat.

After two hours of dancing on the dance floor, Emma walks back to the booth. Emma throws back another shot before lighting a cigarette. A few moments later, she stands up and begins to dance again. Alcohol, money, and drugs are being thrown all around her. She does not know who the guys are in the booth or why they do not have shirts on. She does not care; this is a normal night for her.

At some point later that evening, Emma ends up kissing her friend passionately as they dance around the booth. A few minutes later, she notices that one of the guys is setting up a few lines of coke. She leans down to snort a line before deciding she is going to dance on the table for this guy. Drugs, alcohol, and dancing in heels on a table did not make for a good combination. She falls off of the table and someone in the club takes a photo at the opportune moment and takes a photo of her crotch.

\\*****/

Graham has escorted the girl back to his room and now has her lying on his bed while he is laying on top of her. He moves up and lifts his shirt off before moving back down to kiss her. The girl flips them over so she is now straddling Graham as she pulls her shirt over her head and throws in onto the floor behind her. She moves forward to kiss Graham and after a few moments he flips the two of them over. He begins to kiss down her stomach. The girl leans up trying to get more of his touch.

Graham and the mystery girl continue to kiss on his bed. They fight for dominance as their passion grows. They continue to flip each other over alternating between who is on top and who is kissing down whose neck. Graham finally wins the battle as he pins the girl onto the bed with his body. She moves her hands to grab his butt and gives it a light squeeze.

He moves to kiss the top of her breast as his hands move to unzip her jeans. He knew this is a combination of alcohol and physical attraction but he is was going to make the most of it. After all, he is a prince of England.

\\*****/

 _ **The Next Morning**_

David throws one of the many newspapers showcasing his daughter's incident from last night on the table. He turns and walks towards the windows as he hears helicopters circling the palace grounds. He watches with disappointment as the helicopter lands and his daughter is passed out in the back seat from last nights' festivities.

"Your majesty?" A palace servant says from behind him.

He turns around to face the servant. The man looks sad which prompts him to ask, "My god, Truman. What else did she do? I can't imagine it can get any worse."

"It's not your daughter, sir. It's your son. I'm afraid it is worse."

\\*****/

Graham is asleep resting his head on the girl from last night's rear when he wakes up and pulls the covers around her. He sits up and as his security guard, Robin, walks through the door of his room.

"Prince Graham." He says.

"Robin. You're supposed to guard me, not scare the hell out of me." Graham replies.

"You need to return to the palace, Your Highness." Robin tells him with a grim look on his face.

"Why what's going on?" Graham asks him.

"You too, Ruby." Robin states.

The girl from last night, Ruby, turns around to face the door and sits up on the bed. She pulls the covers closer around herself. She stares as Robin leaves the room and throws herself back onto the bed with a sigh.

\\*****/

Mary Margaret sits at her desk in a red dress flipping through the newspapers showcasing her daughter's incident from last night. Emma walks into the room which causes her to look up.

"Mom?" Emma asks her.

"Emmaorgy. Flash Dance. Royal Beaver." Mary Margaret says while reading the newspaper headlines aloud to her daughter. She turns the last one around to face Emma so it has an impact on her.

Emma just takes a deep breath and stares at the floor. Mary Margaret slams the paper into the desk and stands up to speak to her daughter.

"My daughter, the Princess, behaving like a common whore. But go on, amuse me. Explain this latest disgrace. But please, Emma, make it original this time." She tells her daughter with her hands crossed around her front.

Emma finally looks up into her mother's eyes. "August is dead, Mom."

Mary Margaret's face falls as she realizes what Emma has just told her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **A/N. Just a reminder this is AU. I made a certain character related to another one to fit larger plot points made in the future.**

Graham runs up the steps inside the entrance of the palace. He runs across the throne room as fast as he can. He needs to know if what Robin said is true. He needs to know if August is dead. If it's really true and his older brother is really dead, that would make him next in line for the throne and he is not sure he is ready for that. He has spent his entire life as the second and the spare, he's not sure if he's ready to be the heir.

He finally finds his mother, father, and sister in his mother's office. His father is staring out the window as his mother is hugging his sister trying to console her. She has tears running down her face. Em and Auggie always had a special relationship Graham never understood. His family looks up as he bursts into the room. That was all the conformation he needed. He would be the next King of England and in that moment, his life changed.

\\*****/

Ruby did not get an escort out of Graham's room when Robin rushed in to tell him the grim news. She had to find her own way home. After dressing and a long walk of shame back to the palace, she is finally walking across the throne room which Graham had dashed into earlier that morning. She walks through the throne room and down the halls of the palace until she reaches the service elevator that leads up to her and her father's apartment in the palace. When she steps out of the elevator, she see her father pacing the living room while talking on the phone.

"And the body is where? And he won't be moved, right?" He asks the person on the other end of the phone conversation.

Her father waves at her when she steps into the room. Ruby stands there and waits for him to be down. She knows he will want to speak to her after what has happened.

"Military protocol's in our favor. Its imperative things remain anonymous. Fiona with handle press, I'll personally escort the body. Yeah. I'm on my way." He says before hanging up the phone.

Her father turns and looks at her. Ruby wrings her hands in front of her.

"How'd it happen?" She asks him. She only heard the bear minimum from Robin before he escorted Graham out of his room at university.

"We're still gathering information." He tells her.

"Is that the truth from my father, or the official response from the King's head of security?" She asks him with a distrusting tone.

"The truth form your father. The same father who went to your room to find your bed empty, which can't be said for the Prince's bed." He tells her while putting on his suit jacket. "The fact that I had to learn from one of my own men."

There it is. She had been waiting for her father to make these comments.

"I know. Just don't take it out on Robin, okay? He didn't know." She tells her father.

"When the Queen asks her Head of Security why he can't control his own daughter, what would you like me to say?" He asks her while placing his gun in the holster on his right hip.

"I don't know. You could tell her that your normally responsible daughter got drunk on gin and tonic- mostly gin- and had irresponsible but protected sex with her son and is very much ashamed of herself." She tells him while looking at the floor,

Her father places his hand on his head like the thought of her father having sex with the prince instantly gave him a headache. He moves to punch a cushion on the couch, he began to pace next to when she started to tell him when happened last night. He turns and looks at her with a stern face.

"I'm an employee, Ruby. We live here under an unspoken code of distance and division. A code you must have conveniently forgotten, otherwise you wouldn't have been up all night drinking mostly gin and having illicit sex with the future King of England." He tells her raising his voice at the end to make a point.

"You're absolutely right. I'm sorry and I am sorry about August." She tells him.

She was sorry. She does not know what came over her last night. But there was something about seeing Graham in the bar mixed with all the gin that she drank that brought up feelings she didn't know she had.

"I am disappointed in you. Go to class." He tell her before walking behind her and entering the service elevator. "Oh and I am glad you were using protection."

"Dad, could you never say that again, please?" She pleads with him. "You forgot you phone." She adds.

Her father turns around and grabs his phone off of his desk. He heads back towards the elevator. Ruby walks towards her room to change quickly before class. Today is going to be a long day.

\\*****/

Emma sits on a chair in her room staring at the door. A gin and tonic is sitting on the table in front of her. She is still in last night's dress and last night's makeup is stained on her cheeks from the crying. Her phone buzzes on the table and she moves to pick up the phone and silences the phone before tossing it back on the table. She is sick and tired of the phone calls from her so called friends offering their condolences for her loss. They wouldn't bring back August.

She lifts the joint she has in her left hand up to her lips and takes a hit. She looks up as Graham walks into her bedroom. He shuts the door behind him as she moves her head up to blow the smoke towards the ceiling.

"I owed him a call. Last night I promised I'd call him, but…" She starts as her phones begins to buzz on the table again. She picks it up and throws in on the floor. She brings her left hand up to cover her eyes. "… they're gonna come now. All of them."

"Maybe do Mom a favor and wear some knickers." Graham tells her trying to be lighthearted.

His remarks earns a small smile from Emma. "Mom can piss off." She tells him.

"Maybe do Dad a favor then. It's good to see you, Em. August loved you most." He says before turning to walk out of her room.

"Hey" Emma says trying to stop him. Graham pauses and looks at her. "This sucks, huh?" She asks him.

She gets up from the chair and throws her joint in the ash tray on the table. She walks towards the doorway where Graham is standing. She opens her arms and embraces Graham in a hug. Both of their lives are going to change and they needed to be there to support each other.

Graham lifts his head when he hears barking in the distance. Emma knew what barking meant and she did not want to deal with it at the moment.

"Oh no!" She cries out. Why did they have to come?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **A/N. Just as a remind this is AU and all character choices are meant to coincide with character persona's in The Royals as well as help move plot in the direction that I have planned. I promise the character choices make sense in the grand scheme of things.**

Graham and Emma step apart. They both knew what the barking dogs meant. Graham turns around to give Emma some privacy while she walks to her dresser and grabbed a burgundy sweater which she pulled over her head. She didn't care about her makeup or hair at the moment but at least her mother would be happy that she is decent when she left.

She walks up to Graham and followed behind as he walks through the halls and exit the palace. She walks down the stairs to watch as her awful cousins step out of a limo in front of the palace. She knows that they are family and that they are supposed to be here but they are the most awful human beings on the planet and she does not want to deal with their idiocy at the moment.

"Oh, my god, I'm never flying commercial again. Where's our plane?" Drisella asks as she walks in front of the limo.

Emma lays her head on Graham's shoulder as she watches the two girls flounder about.

"It's redic." Anastasia says responding to her older sister.

"It's recock." Drisella responds.

Emma watches as the girls struggle to maintain control of their dogs as their assistants hand them the leeches.

"Saw your fanny on the front page, Em. Well done, you." Drisella tells her with a large smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, how many people read the tabs, anyway?" Anastasia chimes in. "Like three million? I mean, that's less than what's seen your bits anyway."

Their cousins both look at each other and bow slightly mumbling "yadda, yadda, yadda… whatever." Graham and Emma are next in line for the thrown before them so they had to bow but they hating doing it and only went through the motions when they had to. They walk up a few steps to be closer to Emma and Graham. Emma takes her head off of her brother's shoulder,

"Oh God…" Anastasia whispers,

"Sorry about Auggie." Drisella tells them.

"Yeah. Like, no fair." Anastasia says.

Drisella and Anastasia open their arms and move to hug their cousins. Drisella hugs Emma and Anastasia hugs. The awkward hugs last only a few seconds before the pair step back,

"So is our father about?" Anastasia asks as she begins to walk up the stairs.

"That neglectful tosser." Drisella adds while following her sister.

\\*****/

Later that afternoon, Graham is sitting on a stone bench in one of the gardens while one of the palace staff pours tea into a tea cup for him. He has since changed out of last night's clothes and is clad in a dark gray sweater and jeans. He stares out into the garden thinking about the events of the last 24 hours. He does not see Ruby as she walks around the bench.

"Robin said you wanted to see me?" She says breaking him out of his reverie.

Graham looks around startled. "Erm… please sit." He says while gesturing to the space next to him on the bench.

"How do you like your tea?" He asks her as he moves to take a cup off of the tray the servant left behind.

"I like it when it's called coffee." She tells him. "Iced dirty chai with soy."

Shit. He forgot she grew up in America with her mom before she came to university here.

"I know those are words, but I have no idea when they mean." He tells her as a small smile forms on his lips.

She laughs at his comment. There is an awkward silence between them as neither know what to see in this situation. Ruby is the first to break the silence.

"Last year when my mom died, people didn't really know what to say or do. But it was always nice when they tried. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about August. He seemed like a wonderful person." She tells him with sincerity.

"He was." He says before he pauses and gathers his thoughts. "It's a bit mad around here now, so… I just wanted to say, about last night, it was…"

"It's fine." She responds cutting him off.

"I didn't know who you were. When Robin recognized you I realized it was you…" He confesses her.

"It's okay. I didn't know who you were either." She says looking him in the eye. After a few moments, a smile breaks across her face.

"So, you're funny." He tell her before taking a sip of tea.

"I haven't been back that long and even though we live in the same palace, it doesn't mean we live in the same world. Besides, my dad would prefer to keep things quiet." She admits to him.

"Was he upset when he found out?" He asks her.

"A little. But I knew what I was doing…" She informs him with a smirk. "Does the Queen know?"

Graham looks back towards the palace which looms large in the distance before responding, "The Queen knows everything."

The smirk fades from Ruby's face as the reality of what Graham said crosses her mind. She is not sure how she feels about the Queen knowing but she knows she will find out soon.

\\*****/

Inside the throne room of the palace, Queen Mary Margaret and King David sit in chair placed in the room for people to pay their respects to the late Prince August. His coffin was placed in the room under the union jack until all the formalities occur in the coming days. Mary Margaret and David sit one seat apart as they stare at the coffin. Mary Margaret is the first to rise from her seat.

She walks towards the coffin as David watches his wife from his seat. She stares at the coffin while trying to hold back tears. David rises from his seat and moves to stand behind his wife. He places his arms around his wife in a loving gesture and she leans into him allowing a few tears to slide down her cheeks.

A servant comes into the room and turns away abruptly when he sees the private moment between the King and Queen. When Mary Margaret notices the servant she steps away from David and wipes the tears from her eyes. She turns around and begins to walk away from him

"Mary Margaret. Don't go." He pleads with her. "When a mother loses her first born son… I believe she's allowed to grieve." He turns to face her as a few tears escape from his eyes.

She takes a few calming breaths before answering her husband. "Not when she's the Queen." She responds before walking away from him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _And so the world gathers to pay their respects and say goodbye to Prince August, taken suddenly and far too soon at the age of 23. Charismatic. Compassionate. August was Britain's beloved son, and he, like all the Royals loved the people with all his heart._

Graham stands staring out a window of the palace watching the crowd of people who have gathered to pay their respects to his older brother.

"God, how I loathe those people." He hears his uncle say as he comes up to stand next to him. "Draped in their football jerseys and false sentiments, I can practically smell them from here."

James is his father's twin brother. He was born moments after his father which made him second in line for the throne. James loathed being the spare and he made sure everyone knew it. Graham and Emma were not of their uncle or the offspring he produced.

Graham steps away from the window not wanting to listen to his uncle drone on and on. Emma steps up to the window and replaces him. She stares outside and watches the people who have gathered to pay their respects to August.

"I would have thought youwould be happy, dear Uncle. I mean, after all, you're one step closer to the throne. All you have to do is wait for your brother to die and then kill Liam… Oh, and kill me too, of course." She tells him with a smirk.

He turns to face her with a smile, "The drugs will do that and if not, the syphilis will drive you mad and they'll declare you unfit to rule. Either way, win, win." He retorts to his niece.

"Speaking of syphilis you probably should've had that whore of an ex-wife of yours checked before those two were born." She replies gesturing towards her cousins and his daughters.

Drisella and Anastasia walk into the room in awful looking hat wearing too much jewelry and makeup then is appropriate when mourning. James looks at his daughters with disgust.

"What's that smell? Is that your feet?" Emma and James overhear Drisella ask her sister across the room.

"I thought it was your fanny." Anastasia responds.

"It well could be in this boiler." Drisella replies.

Emma rolls her eyes at her ever charming cousins and returns to staring outside the window.

\\*****/

Ruby walks into one of the sitting rooms in the palace where all the palace staff, royals, and dignitaries are gathered for day's events surrounding Prince August's funeral. Ruby spots Graham not far from her on her left and begins to walk quickly across the room to avoid him. He needs time to mourn and she would just bring unnecessary drama into his life.

"Hey." Graham call out to her causing her to stop and turn to face him. "Are you trying to get away from me?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't… I was trying to be respectful." She tells him.

He looks down for a moment before looking up into her eyes. "They wrote a speech for me. To give to the press. 'We lost more than a man or a Prince. We lost a beacon. The kind on which a nation relies to confer legitimacy and create unity.'" He tells her sardonically. "My brother dies and they script my feelings."

"Well, no matter what, I know he'll be proud of you today." She tells him before turning to walk away from him.

"Hey." He says stopping her in her tracks. She turns back to face him again. "Let's have dinner sometime." He tells her.

"Are you asking me out before your brother's funeral?" She asks him.

"It's my first non-scripted moment of the day." He responds while looking down at his shoes.

She smiles and laughs quietly at his response. "I like it. You should go off script more often. Good luck."

"Thank you." He tells her before she walks away down one of the palace hallways.

\\*****/

Graham watches as Ruby turns and walks away from his down a palace hallway. Asking her out at his brother's funeral, what was he thinking? Things felt so different with her, he did not know what to say or how to act. He sees his mother walking towards him out of the corner of his eye. This could not be good.

"Really? Poor Elsa." His mother says chastising him for his taste in women.

"Poor Elsa broke up with me, Mom." He reminds her.

"Well, can you blame her? Might I remind you the entire world will be watching you today? You'll give your quote to the reporters, you'll acknowledge the crowd, and you'll escort me to the car. And try not to sleep with anyone along the way." She whispers the last sentence into his ear.

Graham watches his mother walk away and looks around at the people in the room with him. This is going to be a long day, he thinks with a sigh.

\\*****/

After an hour of everyone making small talk in one of the sitting rooms of the palace, Tamara and Albert begin to notify everyone that the procession out of the palace to August's funeral will begin shortly. Everyone grabs their coats and hats and prepares of the procession. His mother and father will lead the procession out of the palace, followed by him and his sister, then his uncle and cousins, and lastly the security detail and Ruby will exit the palace.

Graham follows behind his parents and stands next to his sister on the steps of the palace. He stares out at the crowd of somber faces staring back at him. He steps away from his sister and towards Ruby on the steps. He looks up at her and she turns to look at him. He takes a deep breath and walks down the steps to the reporter to his waiting for his statement.

"Prince Graham, with heavy hearts we offer our condolences to you as a grieving nation." The reporter tells him before moving the microphone towards him.

Graham takes a deep breath to settle himself before speaking. "One of the great things about my brother was he wasn't afraid to be his own man. I'll miss him." He tells the reporter going off the script the palace had provided him for today.

He walks back to the stairs to escort his mother to the car. The rest of the family and staff move to continue the procession as planned. Graham sits down next to his sister in the back of the car who is already drinking a glass of scotch.

"My God, You wretched brats." She says as she lifts the veil of her hat off of her face. "Your brother, my first born son, and you can't find the decorum, the civility, to honor his memory. What is wrong with you?"

"Was that scripted to?" Emma asks his mother.

"We script you because we can't trust either of you to come up with a reasonably coherent thought." She responds to her daughter.

"You know, God forbid, we appear incoherent when our brother dies. Or sad. You might try it, Queen." Emma bites back.

This conversation is all background noise as Graham watches his father outside of the car window shake hands with the people who gathered outside of the palace to grieve.

"You are a little bitch." She tells her daughter. "I'm in inconsolable." She grabs a mirror from her purse and starts to fix her lipstick.

"Really?" Graham asks their mother raising his voice. "Because our dad is out there genuinely grieving the death of his son, while you're in here worrying about the family's image and topping off on the Botox."

Mary Margaret leans forward and slaps her son across the face. "At least I'm not slumming with the help." She says to him.

Emma moves to look at her brother's face. He moves and gestures for her to stop. He turns his head and continues to stare out the car window.

"And she's so plain. I think Richard the third had it right. Lock the kids in the Tower and be done with them." She continues to say as she fixes her lipstick.

"Maybe Henry the Eighth had it right. He just killed his wives. One of them because she looked fat." He turns his head as he speaks so he can direct the last comment at his mother.

Mary Margaret sighs. "They always take the good ones." She replies shaking her head at him.

"How did August die?" He asks her. "All they'll tell us was that it was a military accident."

"That's all you need to know." She tells her son.

"Whatever it was good for him. If you ask me, August was the lucky one." Emma whispers while staring out the window of the car.

Graham watches as his father continues to shakes the hands of the people, his people. He watches as a father holding a young boy lifts his son over the fence and the boy runs towards the King. The King bend down on one knee to be eye level with the boy as the boy hands him a plush of a British royal guardsman. The boy steps forward and the King moves to take him into his arms and lifts him up as he stands. He turns around as he rubs the boys back up and down.

He steps back towards the father and hands him his son back. The King walks towards the cars and gets inside. The King sits down next to his wife as the car begins to pull away from the palace. Graham stares out the window of the car not wanting to look his father or his mother in the eyes.

\\*****/

Later that night, the entire family gathered in the large dining hall of the palace for dinner. David, James, Mary Margaret, Emma, Graham, Drisella, and Anastasia all sat down for a meal together for the first time in a long time and Emma is dreading it. She could tolerate her family in small amounts of time but all of them together at dinner was not her idea of a good time.

Everyone is quiet around the table and the only noise is Drisella and Anastasia typing away on their cellphones. Emma could not believe how thick they were sometimes. Graham clears his throats and break the silence.

"I was thinking about taking some time off from school. Check up on August's charities." Graham says directing his comment at his father.

"I would have thought your studies would be a welcome distraction." Their mother chimes in before sipping her wine.

"Speaking of welcome distractions…" Emma says as she notices Ruby step into the dining hall.

Her mother is going to love this and she cannot wait to see her reaction.

"I asked a guest to join us." Graham announces with a smile on his face.

Ruby hesitantly walks towards Graham as he stands up and gestures for her to sit in the empty seat next to him.

"Sit here." He says to her.

Under the table, Anastasia passes Emma some ecstasy which she hides in her hand waiting for the opportune moment to take it.

"Mom, Dad, this is Ruby." Graham tells them.

"Ruby Gold, artist in residence." David comments with a smile.

"For his majesty's silver jubilee, I presented him with a very serious work of art." Ruby tells them.

Emma uses this moment of distraction to place the pill in her mouth and chases it with a sip of her wine.

"I can recall, you were working in the paste and yarn medium at the time." David replies with a smile.

Ruby laughs, "I retired shortly thereafter."

"What's your focus now?" He asks her.

"Art history at Churchill." She responds.

"Ruby's doing a join honors degree. Art history and dance." Graham tells them.

"Which is grand news, indeed, as the Prime Minister himself recently expressed a concern about the shortage of frolicking art historians." Mary Margaret retorts taking another sip of her wine. "I'm sure you'll be twerking your way to a great future."

"Well, she is dining with the future King of England, so she's got that going for her." Emma chimes in not letting her mother walk over this poor Ruby girl. She knows how her mother can be and she does not want to see a good girl like Ruby get turned away because her mother is a bitch. And she definitely does not want to see another Elsa come into Graham's life.

"It's good that you're here, Ruby. You can give us the common point of view. How is the public faring in the wake of August's death?" James asks her.

Between her mother and her uncle, Emma is sure she will never see Ruby again.

"I think we'll go." Graham replies. Graham moves to get up but stopes when Ruby opens her mouth to speak.

"Robert carried himself with a nobility and grace that was easy to admire. He was inspiring and he was ours. But I can only speak from this commoner's perspective." Ruby responds.

"You say he was yours, but you're American." James says pointing out the obvious.

"My mom was American but I was born here and raised in the States because it was…" Ruby says.

"Because it was safer." David says interrupting Ruby. "Please stay."

Graham and Ruby lean back into their chairs.

"I appreciate your kind words about August, Ruby. I do. August joined the military because I did. Like my father before me and his father before him and so on. Robert was killed by tradition." David states.

"He died a hero's death." James adds. "A noble death."

"Which merely means he's dead. Why?" David asks his brother.

"I seemed to have lost my appetite." Mary Margret announces as she places her napkin on the table.

"I think you'll want to stay to hear this next part, my love." David tells her. "I think you all will. So put away your phones and your drugs and your lust for the server's sponge and pay attention. I am considering asking Parliament for a referendum. To abolish the monarchy."

Everyone at the table is quiet for a few moments while they contemplate what abolishing the monarchy would mean for them and of course one of her thick cousin's has to open their mouth and ask a stupid question.

"Erm… What does that mean exactly?" Drisella asks breaking the silence.

"Umm…er… that means you'll have to get a job." Emma replies mimicking her cousins nasally voice.

"A vote, idiot of my loins, to eradicate us. To erase us." James tells his daughters.

"Yeah, but who votes?" Anastasia asks.

"The people." James replies with an eye roll.

"Yeah, but they can't do that. I mean they're the people. And we are like, us." Anastasia states.

Emma rolls her eyes and the stupidity of her cousin. She still cannot fathom that is somehow related to that.

"They can and they have. Ever heard of America?" James asks them.

Both Drisella and Anastasia look like they are going to be sick at the mention of America.

"But I do not want to be American." Drisella states. "I do not want to walk around like Justin Bieber with no shirt on and my trouser hanging off."

"He's Canadian." Emma tells them with another roll of her eyes.

"Even worse." Anastasia states. "They can't make us Canadian can they, Daddy? Canadian and poor just like Justin Bieber."

The British monarchy always has been and always will be." James reassures them.

"'Always will be' killed August." David says raising his voice at his brother.

"The people need the monarchy." James replies.

"The people need bread and jobs and a decent wage. They don't need us." David tells his brother.

"With all due respect, my King…. How would you know?" James asks him.

That comments from her uncle silences her father and makes the rest of family dinner very awkward for the rest of the family and Ruby.

 **A/N. Really happy this is the longest chapter to date! Please let me know what you think!**

 **Please remember this is AU and all character choices are made to move plot forward in the story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

David peeks his head into one of the kitchens later that night to find one of his favorite servants, Truman. David walks a few feet into the kitchen before speaking.

"Truman." The king states as the servant turns around holding a tray of tea. The servant looks surprised to see the king in the kitchen this late at night.

"Your majesty?" Truman asks while bowing his head. He puts the tray down on the table in front of him to give his full attention to the king.

David looks at Truman who he has trusted all of these years and takes a deep breath. "I need a favor," he says before stepping closer to the servant.

\\*****/

Queen Mary Margaret steps into her bedroom in the palace which she shares with David. The lights are off in the room and she can see the outline of a person under the covers of the bed. She sighs before shutting the door. She hopes her husband is still awake, they need to talk.

"I know you're tired. And despondent over August. But, honestly, it was out of character for you to speak so carelessly about the family." She starts as she walks over to her dresser and begins to take off her jewelry. "Referendums and Parliament and disbanding the Monarchy. It's all so dramatic," she continues as she unzips her dress and slides the straps off of her shoulders. "And frankly, it's weak and less than who you are."

She turns around with her dress in her hand to find one of the servants, Truman, rising out from her bed in her husband's pajamas. She gasps and covers herself as she is standing there in only a black bra and panties.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty" Truman tells her as he stares at her in shock. He is not used to seeing the Queen in this state. "Erm… I was…" He pauses as he looks her up and down fully. "My God, it's good to be the King."

Mary Margaret does not know why a servant is in her bedroom or where her husband was this late at night. But she glares at the servant hoping, he gets the point to leave the room as quickly as his legs would take him.

\\*****/

David walks through the streets of London undetected. No one expected the King of England to be walking around at this time of night, in the rain, and without security. He took advantage of that. No one stopped him or even paid him any notice. These walks allowed him to think without the craziness of the palace around him.

David reflects on the events of dinner and how his family responded to the news of disbanding the monarchy. But he knew he had to stick to his guts. The monarchy is just a show now and it is unnecessary. This lifestyle is running the people he loved. It took August away from him. It has made Emma a partier who uses and abuses drugs, alcohol, and sex. It had made Graham a party buy as well. It has turned Mary Margaret from the woman he fell in love with all those years ago to a woman he does not even recognize. It had turned his brother into a monster. It even took away Gold's wife and Ruby's mother last year. He could not make up for the deaths but he could try to change his family. That is what this referendum is about, becoming a family again.

He walks towards the Thames River and leans against the railing. He stares up at the London Bridge which is lit up in white lights at this hour. He walks a little further along the river before pausing and looking up towards Big Ben and Parliament. He knows what he has to do. He knows it won't bring Robert back but he hopes it will stop any other tragedies from happening to this family.

\\*****/

Ruby steps into the elevator that leads to her family's apartment in the palace. She takes a deep breath. She was not expecting that when Graham invited her to dinner. She wonders if the King is serious about disbanding the monarchy. She thinks about her mother. She would still be here if the monarchy did not exist.

She steps out of the elevator to find her father sitting at his desk working. She looks up and walks past his desk and towards her room. After their conversation from earlier, she really was not in the mood to speak to her father.

"I understand you've had dinner with the Prince." Her father says to her causing her to pause.

She turns to face him and sighs. "He invited me. I said yes." She responds opening her arms to suggest saying to her father what did you want me to do.

He looks up at her and back down quickly. "Next time say no," he tells her.

"Did you ever think that maybe I said yes for you?" She asks him. "That saying no might make it awkward between you and the King?"

"Did you?" He asks her placing the paper he was holding on the desk, giving his daughter his full attention.

"No." She responds looking down. "I said yes because I wanted to go. Speaking of places we've gone lately, did you visit mom's grave?" She asks him while crossing her arms. She already knew the answer that question but she wanted to hear him say it.

"I've been working. The King's welfare is never-ending." He responds without any emotion.

"Yeah." She says under her breath while turning and stepping towards her room.

"If you've got something to say, say it." He says raising his voice, slamming his pen into the desk, and leaning back into his chair.

She takes a deep breath and turns back around. "You know what? Fine. I will. Two things, actually. I appreciate that you worry about me, and I get it," she tells him as she steps closer to his desk. "Being close to the Royal Family is what got Mom killed and that's where you go when I'm near them. But it's not the same thing, Dad."

"It is the same thing. And frankly, it's not fair to me." He says interrupting her.

"Because you worry about me when I'm near them." She finishes his thought.

"It's dangerous, Ruby. Even for a moment." He cries out.

She shakes her head at him. She can feel tears welling in her eyes. "Do you know how many steps it takes to get from the elevator to the chair you're sitting in?" She asks him, her voice breaking at the end. "Seven." She pauses before speaking again. "Do you know how many to your bedroom? Twenty-three." She pauses again. "I lie awake at night and wait to count those steps because at least I know you're home and you're safe. You worry about a moment. I worry about all the other moments." She turns and walks away.

He looks up to watch his daughter walking away. "Hey. You said there were two things."

She sighs and crosses her arms before turning to look at her father again. "She always put us first, you know? You didn't visit her grave. You haven't taken a single day off since she died. That's screwed up, Dad. Mom deserves better." She turns again and walks towards her room.

 **A/N: I know this chapter was a long time coming and I am sorry. It has been crazy at work and then I recently decided to relaunch my blog and start back up my photography habit. I hope to be posting more regularly in the future. But thank you to those readers who are still with me!**

 **Also, Truman is not a OUAT character. He is a servant from The Royals universe.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **A/N: A nonconsensual sexual act is implied in the second scene of this chapter. Please skip this scene if that can be triggering to you.**

Emma sits on her bed in her bedroom sorting out a dish of red, white, and blue condoms onto a picture frame. She places the condoms on the frame to make a union jack flag on the frame. She thinks it's ironic and she's planning on placing it next to the official palace portrait of herself that hangs on the wall across from the foot of her bed. She turns when she hears knocking on her door. Her two idiot cousins peek their heads in and she has to refrain from rolling her eyes at them.

"Oh, look who it is. Slag One and Slag Two." She says to them. "Get in here, you daft bitches." She says while forcing herself to smile. She really hopes they leave soon. She is not sure how much longer she can pretend to tolerate them.

Anastasia and Drisella walk over to her bed as she stands up. They empty the content of their bags onto the bed. Various tubes of lipsticks, small baggies, and pill packages fall onto the bed. Emma begins to refile through what her cousins have brought her.

"I will take…this and this… I will leave you with this, okay?" She tells them as she hands Drisella back her birth control. She does not need spawn of her daft cousin popping about. "God forbid we get any more of the likes of you." She begins to examine the bags she took as her cousin's talk to her.

"Oh, yeah, Drisella doesn't actually get high. She says it makes her queasy. Erm... Sher is also a virgin." Anastasia informs her like it is the most important news of the day.

"Just a vaggy virgin. Not a blowy or a handy." Drisella pipes in while giving her sister a dirty look.

Emma turns to face them. "Now I'm queasy. Well, you're getting high tonight. Both of you." She informs them. If she had to tolerate them any longer, she was going to be high or drunk while doing it. "Just not here."

She turns, grabs her bong, and walks out of her bedroom. Her two cousins look at each other before following behind her. She leads them to the throne room and plops down on one of the thrones. Drisella and Anastasia sit in chairs next to her. She put the weed in the bong before taking her lighter and lighting the end of it. She takes a long drags before moving her head up to blow the smoke towards the ceiling. She turns and holds the bong in front of Drisella who timidly inhales before coughing.

Emma throws her head back and laughs. "Yes!" She shouts between spurts of laughter. "Maybe… you'll be better at shagging." Drisella begins to cough again. "Although, I doubt it," Emma adds under her breath.

"I can't believe August is gone," Anastasia says while staring off into space. Emma could tell that her cousin was already gone or maybe this is just her normal self. She is starting to feel the effects of the weed so she didn't trust her judgments of her cousins at the moment. She is just happy they were tolerable for the moment. "He would've been a stellar king, yeah?" Anastasia asks.

"If there's even going to be another King." Drisella bemoans. "Can you imagine it? Not being a princess? I'm just not qualified to do anything else."

"I think I can do all kinds of things," Anastasia adds. "Like erm.. serve tea the Ritz. Yeah, you know, like, 'Would you like another pot of tea, ladies? With some finger cakes?'"

"Food. I'm starving." Emma says as she stands up from her chair. The weed was making her hungry and she secretly hoped that her cousins would not follow her into the kitchen and she could finally have a moment of peace. She turns and starts walking out of the room.

"I can't feel my legs." Emma hears Drisella say from behind her. "I need assistance. Em?"

Emma just keeps on walking. Thankfully, her dumb cousins are too high to follow her to the kitchen.

\\*****/

James stands in his suite as he pours himself a drink from a tumbler on the table. There is a knocking on the door.

"Come in," James calls out not looking up from the task at hand. The door shuts and he hears footsteps behind him.

"His Royal Highness asked for me?" A female voice calls out behind him.

"Yes. Regrettably, there have been complaints about your efforts. Enthusiasm of service, that sort of thing." He tells her as her places the top on the tumbler of scotch.

"I can assure you this is the first I'm hearing of it." She says softly almost pleading to him. "I'll do better. I can't be on benefits."

"Of course." He says while he turns around. He smiles when he sees the maid wearing the same uniform and stockings that intrigued him at dinner earlier. "You seem terribly nervous. Am I that intimidating?"

"It's just… Well, I've heard things." She replies in a quiet voice.

"Oh?" He asks her intrigued. He takes a few steps towards her. "What sort of things?" He hands her his glass before moving to stand behind her.

"That… some of the women have had to do things to keep their jobs. With you." She replies while swallowing hard.

James leans in to speak into her ear. "You've heard that they had to have sex with me." He pauses for emphasis. "Well, I can assure you that's not the case. Nor was it my intention when I asked you here." He looks down and begins to take in the back side of the servant in front of him. He moves so he is standing behind her other shoulder. "So, please, relax." He says as he places a light touch under her chin.

He takes the glass from her hands and steps in front of her. "I'm simply looking for a token display of dedication." He walks towards the fireplace in the back of this room in his suite before turning to face her. "In a service capacity," he adds. "Besides, even the President of the United States said it wasn't sex." He smiles before sitting down in a chair facing her.

He leans back in the chair and unzips the zipper of his pants. He looks back up at her before saying, "And remember, enthusiasm counts."

The girl sniffles before walking forward towards James and kneeling down to her knees. James leans back and smiles.

\\*****/

After leaving the throne room. Emma wanders to the kitchen and meanders through the fridge hoping to find something to sate her appetite. She is in luck; she finds a pie which looks heavenly. She grabs a fork from a drawer and sits down at a small table. She digs in immediately not bothering to cut a slice from the pie and put it on a plate. With her appetite, she could probably finish this pie in one sitting.

She looks up to see her father sneaking into the kitchen through the servants' door. She smiles. She knows about his late night walks but she is still going to give him grief about it.

"Is that the King of England skulking about?" She asks him a smile spreading across her face. She watches as he crosses the room and shrugs at her comment. "Fancy some? This was reserved for the Prime Minister but that fat bastard does not need any more pie."

Her father crosses the room and grabs a plate before moving to stand before her. "I could always decide to sell pies." She tells him. "If you decide to disband the monarchy. Which I am all for, by the way."

"Something tells me your opinion in the minority." He tells her as he moves to cut a piece of the pie his daughter is currently shoving into her face.

"And when has that mattered?" She asks him as he sits down next to her. "You trust your instincts. You follow your heart. That's what makes you great. A great King." She takes another bite of pie before she looks up at him and smiles. "And a kind of okay father."

He smiles back at his daughter. "How are you, Ems?"

She looks down at the pie not quite sure how to answer her father's question. "Umm… I'm sad. But I'm baked out of my mind. So right now I'm well."

There is a pause before he replies to her. "They worry about you. Your mother. Graham."

"Not you?" She asks him with a smirk.

"Not so much." He replies with a smile.

"Oh, thanks a lot!" She says to him while laughing.

He takes a deep breath, stands, and places his plate on the table. "Go to bed. Do better tomorrow." He picks up the knife he cut the pie with and jokingly points it at her. "I'm the King. You have to do as I say." He places the knife down and turns and walks away from her.

Emma stares after her dad. She wishes she could do better for him but at this, she is not sure if she can anymore. "Dad?" She calls out to him. He turns to face her. She takes a deep breath before asking, "Do I disappoint you?"

He smiles at her. "Those qualities you say make me great, I see them in you every day. Don't medicate all that wonder. Your brother loved you with all his heart. So do I."

She looks up at him behind the tears welling in her eyes and responds, "Yeah."

 **A/N: Thank you all for staying with me. I promise you will be introduced to Killian soon! Trust me he is my favorite to write! I just don't as much time as I used to so it's been hard to find time to update this fic. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading this fic.**

 **James who is based on Cyrus in the show and he is not a nice person. So I am sorry for that scene and how I wrote it if that offended anyone. I based the scene off of one in the show.**

 **P.S Who do you think the maid is with James?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

David walks into the bedroom after leaving Emma in the kitchen. He finds his wife fast asleep while sitting up against pillows on their bed. He plops down onto the bed with a sigh and begins to take off his tie.

"Let me recap my week for you." He hears his wife say from behind him. He swallows loudly. "My daughter's vagina was on the cover of no less than four tabloids. My firstborn child was killed. My husband announced he wants to abolish the only life I've ever known. And his footman nearly saw my snatch."

"I miss him. With every breath. And what tears me is the knowledge that he could have been anything in the world." He sighs. "I will not lose another son or daughter to this."

"They're my children, too. They're no worse than any other kids their age."

"Your daughter was 'rolling balls' in the state dining room. Now she's stoned and eating the Prime Minister's pie." He turns to face his wife. He wants to look her in the eyes when he says this, "I am not sure that ending this will heal any of us but staying the same will destroy us. "

She leans towards before replying, "The English Crown has been protected and defended for thousands of years. From clans with sticks to World Wars, legions of lives lost…"

"But not this one." He interjects. He pauses for a moment and turns to look at her. "Not our son."

"You are the King of England, goddamnit. Act like it."

"That's exactly what I intend to do." He says forcefully before getting up and walking out of the room.

\\*****/

Mary Margaret walks into the throne room the next morning to finds James' god awful offspring passed out on the throne. She was not in the mood for this this morning. It was a long night and she did not want to deal with these two idiots this morning. She turns around to find Zelena. She can deal with those brats.

\\*****/

Emma and Graham watch as their cousins awkwardly walk down the steps into the two Range Rovers waiting for them. They are painfully hung over from the night before and the luggage and dogs are not helping with that fact.

"Okay, so we'll be off now. I guess our father's not…." Drizella starts before a barking dog cuts her off.

They both awkwardly curtsey towards Graham and Emma before stumbling into the car.

"Shut up! If this were Asia we could eat you with mushy peas." Drizella shouts at the dog from the window of the car.

"For dear God do not slam the bloody door!" Anastasia shouts when one of the servants closes the boot of the rover.

"Stop shouting!" Drizella shouts at her sister.

"I'll shout if I bloody want to!"

"Your breath smells like a fart."

The entire ordeal was a shit show and it took everything for Emma not to start laughing at her idiot cousins. When the rovers finally pull away, she rolls her eyes and follows Graham back into the palace.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ruby steps out of the elevator into the apartment she shares with her father in the palace to find him standing by the elevator door waiting.

"Hey. You okay?"

Her father does not respond. He gestures towards the Queen who is standing facing the window on the far side of the room. Ruby knows this cannot be good. The Queen turns and looks at Ruby before walking past her towards the elevator. She takes this as her cue to follow her into the elevator. She follows the Queen out of the elevator and through the hallways of the palace in silence until they reach a door leading outside. She follows behind the Queen as they begin to walk the outside perimeter of the palace.

"You're probably wondering why I wanted to see you."

"Something to do with Graham?"

"His Royal Highness, Prince Graham." The Queen corrects her.

"Right. Sorry." She mumbles an insincere apology. The pit in her stomach twists more and more as she continues to walk with the Queen. Mary Margaret is an intimidating women and she does not have a good feeling about this conversation.

"My son likes you. But… I would be very happy if you'd discourage the relationship."

She smirks. So this is what the conversation is going to be about. She can handle herself just fine against the Queen.

"It's not really a relationship."

"No, of course, it's not…. Is your father still a workaholic?"

"He loves his job."

"Some people feel as though he's getting a little old for this line of work, but, of course, I would never allow him to be replaced, considering the favor you'd be doing for me."

She could not believe it. Well, actually she could. The Queen is propositioning her. She stops whatever is happening between her and Graham in order for her father to continue doing the job he loves.

She walks a few steps ahead of the Queen, turns, and stops in front of her.

"May I speak freely?" She asks making sure to look her in the eyes.

"Of course."

"Okay. Well, the thing is, I wasn't even planning on seeing your son again. At least until you insisted on girl talk and started threatening my father." She said not holding anything back.

"Maybe don't speak quote so freely."

"You're the Queen of England. I get it. But your son is your problem, not mine."

"Be careful, little girl. As you say, I am the Queen of England, and this is my house. Perhaps if you still had a mother, you'd have better manners."

That was a low blow even for Mary Margaret. Playing the dead mother card is not going to make Ruby any more afraid of her. The monarchy already took her mother, they cannot take much more away from her.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Afraid of me? Of course you're not. Why would you be? Now… curtsy to your Queen and walk away."

"I would but my mother never taught me how." Ruby bites back before walking past the Queen and back into the palace.

She really did have no interest in seeing Graham again but if it displeases the Queen that much she might just entertain him for a bit to get back at her. She is quite proud she kept her composure during the entire ordeal with the Queen. Usually the thought of her mother would bring her to tears. It is becoming easier to deal with her loss and Ruby doesn't know if that makes her happy or sad.

\\*****/

Graham sat at a pub while Robin sat next to him. Graham nurses a pint to help him think clearly about everything that's happened these past few days.

"You know what really sucks, Robin? Other than my brother dying? You never drink with me."

"I'm working, sir."

"And stop calling me sir. You've been my security detail for…erm…"

"Six years."

"Six years. Have a drink, you pussy." He says while pushing the few sips left in his pint towards Robin.

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, sir." He responds pushing the glass back toward him. "Shakespeare. Henry IV."

"I know it's Shakespeare, you Scottish prick."

"Careful. You know your name is Scottish. So look at it this way. Maybe you're illegitimate. And in that case, you can't be King anyway."

"Did you just say…?"

"That your mother, the Queen, got owned by a Scotsman?" Robin says interrupting Graham. "Yes, that's what I implied, you potentially Scottish bastard."

There is an awkward pause between them before Graham starts speaking.

"Talk to me about Ruby, Robin."

"Ruby, sir?"

"Ruby. You recognized her in my dorm room."

"Right. Well… Ruby is Mr. Gold's daughter. And Mr. Gold is my boss. So… confidentially…" Robin says as he leans towards Graham. "Ruby is my boss's daughter, sir."

Robin smiles at Graham then leans away not revealing any more information about Ruby.

"Robin, don't they give you diplomacy lessons before you become the King's security?"

"They do indeed, sir."

"Well, you suck at it. You think Emma's security detail is like this?"

"Emma's security detail was fired, sir."

Graham shakes his head while finishing his pint. He places the empty glass on the bar and the bartender places another pint down. Graham reaches for it but Robin takes it first. He winks at Graham before taking a sip from the glass.

"Enjoying that?" Graham asks his sarcastically.

\\*****/

Emma walks through the wine cellar of the palace trying to find something to drink. Her new security detail follows behind her. He is a sheepish man. He is clean shaven with a timid sounding British accent. His dark black hair combed down in a neat fashion. He had piercing blue eyes. If he had a beard and a backbone, Emma thinks she would like Killian more. But he is just another security detail who will surely get fired within the week.

"Oh, perhaps I could call the Keeper of The Cellar, Your Majesty." Killian says sheepishly.

"It's deputy 'Yeoman of the Royal Cellars', and I', Your Highness." Emma tells him as she walks through the stone passageway.

She forgot how difficult it is to walk through the passageway in heels and a mini skirt, especially when you're high.

"If you're going to work here, you better learn the language."

"Apologizes, Your Highness" He stutters as he walks behind her.

"Are you nervous?"

"Very much so, yes."

Oh, this one is cute. Emma could have some fun with him.

"Why? Because I'm the Princess or because I'm hot?"

"Well, no, because you're the Princess."

Emma turns to glare at him. He makes this too easy for her.

"Erm because you're hot. Er… both."

"Inappropriate."

"Apologies, Your Highness."

Emma laughs as she walks finally walks into the cellar. She may keep this one around longer than normal. He makes life around here so much more interesting and with Auggie gone, she needs someone to make life here better.

"I'm so messing with you." She says to him. "Though I do have serious concerns about your ability to guard my body, Killian." She straightens his tie. "The good news for you is that I can look after myself." She lifts a case of wine up. "Now, here hold out your arms." She places the case in his arms.

"Okay, you look concerned. There are 25,000 bottles of wine down here, Killian. I'm the Princess. My house. My wine! Okay?"

"Oh, no. No, of course. Yes."

"But, look, if the Deputy Yeoman see you, you're an alcoholic burglar. Got it."

She looks down and sees an old bottle of wine that catches her attention.

"Ooohhh." She says while picking up the bottle. "This is a 1942 something or other. After I drink this, I'll need you to find a good spot to hide the evidence."

"Sorry. You just said…" He stutters.

"Okay. You can go." She tells him cutting him off. "But tomorrow night, I'm going out so could you lighten up?"

"Er…Yes. Your Majest… Highness."

"Okay." She says with a smile.

"Right" He responds while looking around the cellar. He slowly backs up and turns around.

Emma could already tell that this was going to be her favorite security detail.

\\*****/

Later that night, Emma walks the edge of the second floor balcony of one of the official meetings rooms in the palace. She opened the old expensive bottle of wine a while ago and is trying to enjoy herself. She sees Ruby walk by in the palace.

"Ruby! Stay and drink with me!" She calls out.

Ruby walks towards her. She can tell Ruby is concerned because her brows are furrowed on her face. Emma walks on the edge of the balcony all the time. There is nothing to be concerned about and if she wanted to jump, she would have a long time ago.

"You look like you could use one." Emma tells her.

"Yeah, I could definitely use one."

"1942, it is." Emma says showing her the bottle.

Emma sits down on the edge of the balcony while Ruby grabs the wine glass that was on the floor. Emma pours some wine into the glass.

"Some for you and… more for me." She says before taking a swig out of the bottle. "To August. And to the fading days of a crumbling empire."

She raises the bottle and taps it against the glass in Ruby's hand before taking another long swig of wine. She sets the bottle down next to her and crosses her legs. She clears her throat.

"So umm… How are things with the new boyfriend?" She asks Ruby.

She doesn't really want to know about her brother romantic life but she needed to fill the silence with something.

"It wasn't like that. I tried to explain that to your mother."

"And did she threaten you and tell you to never see him again?"

"Pretty much."

Emma looks over her shoulder at the light fixture above the balcony. As long as Mr. Gold and her brother haven't moved it, it should still be one of the places she hides her joints around the palace. Emma turns around and hope off of the edge of the balcony. She walks towards the light fixture.

"I wasn't looking for a boyfriend. "

She takes the joint and a lighter out of its hiding place and walks towards Ruby.

"So much for dating a guy for his money and power. Art, planes, boats, land. A couple of castles, the Crown Jewels, and diplomatic immunity. But the kid's terrible looking so I can see why none of that would matter." She tells Ruby sarcastically before sticking the joint in her mouth and lighting it up.

"I'm sorry about August."

"Yeah… I'm sorry about your mom. "

"You knew my mother?"

"From a distance. She was elegant, your mom. And your poor father, he was so tortured."

"I guess so."

"I know so." Emma tells her before reaching for the bottle of wine. She takes another long sit of it. "You know, when I quit university last year, I used to kick about, and try to go unrecognized. And mostly I'd end up in this park stealing things from homeless people. Anyway, I would see your dad there. And he would sit on this bench… It was always the same bench… and he would just weep. You know, like he was gutted inside."

"Are you sure that was my father?" Ruby inquires.

Emma takes another drag of the joint.

"He had this book."

"All Creatures Great and Small?"

Emma nods in response.

"It's how he met my mom. She was reading that book in the park and they had a chat about it."

"So, anyway, this went on for weeks. And… eventually my mother summoned him and told him enough was enough. Do you know what he did? Your dad? He looked her right in the eyes… his boss, the Queen of England, and he said 'sack me or deal with it. My wife deserves a lifetime of tears and not even the Queen will decide when enough is enough.' Your dad's a bad-ass. Everyone knows it."

"Everyone except me. I gotta go." Ruby tells Emma.

She turns and walks away. Emma notices the tears welling in her eyes before she turns away.

"Hey. Thank you. You're a bad-ass too." Ruby says before she walks back into the palace.

Emma takes another drag of the joint.

"No, I'm just a bitch with money and power." She whispers to herself. "But I do make it look good."

 **A/N: The Drizella represented here is not the Drizella/Ivy from the new season of OUAT but more inspired from the animated Disney movie. I think I may use Ivy from the new season later on in this story. I have an idea of who she could be.**

 **Slight change. Made Robin (Marcus) Scottish instead of Irish since Graham is a Scottish name and Liam (the character Graham is based off of) is Irish.**

 **As always, thanks for reading!**

 **Also, anyone interested in beta reading this?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Ruby rides up the elevator to the apartment she shares with her father and slides the door open when the elevator stops. She finds her dad waiting when she steps out.

"You were out late." He remarks.

She walks up to him with determination and wraps her hands around his waist.

"Hey. What's all this about?" He asks her.

Ruby exhales loudly. "I just want to say that I love you. Because I do."

He kisses the top of her head and Ruby stays in his embrace for a moment before pulling away from him.

"Goodnight, Dad."

She walks towards her room and shuts the door behind her.

\\*****/

Ruby is working on school work in the living room of the apartment when she hears her father come up in the elevator. He steps out of the elevator to find her sitting there. He pauses and stares at her for a moment as he takes out his earpiece. He crosses his arms and continues to stare at her.

"What?" She asks him without looking up.

"Are you gonna tell me why the Queen was standing in my living room or am I meant to it never happened?" He asks her.

"She just wanted to hang out. We're kind of besties, me and the Queen." She remarks without looking up at her father. There is an awkward silence between them that forces her to finally look up. Her father sits down on the coffee table across from her. "She wanted to tell me not to see Graham. She also threatened you, took a cheap shot at Mom, and was pretty much a complete bitch. And before you say anything, I want to say that I'm sorry. Again. A girl has a few gin and tonics and all hell breaks loose."

"Do you want to see Liam?" He asks her.

"Dad, there's no seeing. Okay? We hang out. And no, I wasn't planning on it."

"Good. Because I agree with the Queen. I think it's for the best. But if you change your mind, don't, for a second, worry about me, or my job, or what the Queen wants, or any of it. Okay?"

"Really?" She asks her father in surprise. He is usually a man who puts his job and duty first. This is very uncharacteristic of him.

"She may rule a nation, but that icy bitch has no hold on my daughter's heart. Besides, they've taken enough from us already."

Ruby smiles up at her dad with tears filling her eyes. This is a side of her father she hasn't seen very much since her mother passed away. She missed this part of him.

"Thanks, Dad."

The intercom on the wall behind her father rings and interrupts the moment between them. Her father immediately gets up to see who is coming up on the elevator to visit them.

"Well, you may not want to hang out with him but he certainly seems to want to hang out with you. Next King of England on his way up."

Ruby immediately shuts her books and starts to straighten up the living room. Her father opens the elevator doors for him when he arrives. She grabs her phone from the table and leans back trying to look casual on the couch for when he arrives.

"Good morning, sir." Her father says with an outstretched hand.

Graham shakes his hand and replies, "Good morning, Ted."

"Hi." He says to her.

"Oh, hey." She replies casually. "What's up?"

"Sorry to come unannounced." He says while walking over to her.

"That's what she said." She replies. Oh my god, she cannot believe she just said that to the future King of England. She is such an idiot.

"Wow." He remarks as he sits down in the same spot her father was sitting just a few minutes ago. "So Emma said you and my mom are hanging out now."

"Yeah. We go to the mall together, trade clothes, and threaten each other."

"I should have warned you. It's kind of what we do. I meet someone, she threatens them. It passes for love in our family."

"It's fine. I mean, it's nice of you to stop by, but totally unnecessary."

"Good, because that's not why I stopped by. I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee sometime. What's that erm… that sludge that you drink? Iced soy dirty… girl?"

"Iced dirty chai with soy." She giggles. "It's delicious. You should try it."

Did she really just giggle? What kind of girl is he turning her into? She never giggles. Oh man, she must really like him.

"I plan to. With you if you say yes."

"I don't know."

"It's just coffee, Ruby."

"If that's your story." There is a pause between them and she looks up into his eyes. Oh, she really is going to regret this later. "Fine. Coffee. You and me. Me and the future King of England, having all the coffee." That last phrase she says in a mocking British accent.

"Good. Umm… yeah. A little awkward but I'm still in. I'll text you."

"Okay"

"I've gotta go." He gets up and begins to walk across the room toward the elevator.

"Hey." She says he stops and turns his body towards her. "Thanks for stopping by."

"I wanted to. Had nothing to do with the Queen."

He turns and walks into the elevator. She watches him leave her apartment with a wide smile on her face. She leans back and exhales sharply.

"This is gonna suck." She whispers to herself.

\\*****/

Emma is just outside the gates of palace sitting on the sidewalk next to the flowers, cards, candles, and other items people have left to memorialize her brother. Killian waits by the door of the car for her. She wanted to pause for a moment at the memorial before heading out to another party where she would forget all her problems for the night.

"Hey, Auggie. I miss you…and I'm gonna miss you. I'll be fine. You know me. Look out for Graham, though." She pauses a second to hold back the tears that threaten to escape her eyes. "I think he's gonna need it."

She stares at all the flowers before her and takes a calming breath. She grabs the open bottle of wine next to her leg and stands up. She turns and walks to the car and Killian opens the door for her.

"Where to, Your Highness?"

She pauses by the car door. "Have you ever been to Paris, Killian?" She takes a long sip from the bottle of wine and gets in the back seat of the car. Killian shuts the door behind her.

Later that night, Emma walks through a club in Paris with Killian right on her tail. She spots one of her friends in the club dancing with a man. She pulls her close and kiss her on the lips for a moment before pulling her away from the man and further into the heart of the club.

\\*****/

While Emma was partying in Paris to down her sorrows, Graham is meeting their father on one of his walks around the city. The stop along the river Thames and stare at the London Eye.

"Oh, it's a beautiful city." There is a pause between them. His father does not respond to his comment. Graham turns and looks at his father. "Dad, are considering abolishing the monarchy because of me? Because you don't believe in me?"

His father turns to face him and look him straight in the eyes.

"No. I'm considering it because I do believe in you. And because I want something more for you."

"What could be more than King?"

"Love. A family raised beyond the tabloids and the walls of the castle. A life lived and not destined. I like Ruby very much."

"Me too."

"Her mother was killed because of me. Because men always choose the wrong things. They stalk power and wealth, and frivolous things they think will make them whole. And it never does. It never does."

Graham takes a moment to process what his father is saying to him.

"But her father chose duty and honor and service to the King. Those aren't frivolous things."

"No. If you asked him, could he do it all over again? What road do you think he would travel? Ted chose duty over love. August chose honor over his own path. Choose love. Choose your own path. Those are the roads to travel my son. Come on."

Graham follows his father as they start their walk back to the palace.

\\*****/

Emma wakes up the next morning in her own bed with the bodyguard lying next to her and she does not really remember how she got home or why he is there in her bed. She knows why her friend lays next to her. Her friend gets up from the bed and walks across the room. Emma leans over the pulls a cigarette from her bedside table and lights it. She taps the bodyguard on the behind.

"Hey. Go home."

She leans back over and grabs her phone and begins scrolling through the notifications. She feels the bodyguard stir next to her.

"You are welcome. Get out." She tells him as he sits up and begins to dress. "I apologize in advance, Killian, for getting you sacked. But… let's be honest, I mean, you were a dead man walking anyway."

"Probably so… What do er… you remember from last night, anyway?"

"Erm… nothing, Killian. You were perfectly forgettable" She tells him while he puts on his shirt.

There is a pause.

"It's just that I remember everything."

She laughs. A memory is going to get you nowhere, Killian. You cannot threaten a princess. This is going to be amusing, she thinks to herself.

"Yeah, well, like I said… You're very welcome."

"See I remember being at the club. And I remember the drugs that I put into your drink. And I remember every… sordid, depraved, self-loathing thing you did after that."

Emma could not believe what she was hearing. This man had the audacity to drug her. Oh, he was so getting fired now. She watches as he gets off of the bed and turns to face her.

"And you know, when I forget… I can always just watch the video." He says with a wicked smile while toying with his phone in his hands.

He is actually blackmailing her and he has proof. Shit, this is not good. Emma lets out a heavy sigh.

"So I think I'll keep this job."

He pulls his blazer out from underneath the sheet causing the sheets to go with him. Emma rushes to cover herself feeling disgusted. She watches as he walks towards the door.

"I like the benefits." He tells her right before he walks out of her room.


End file.
